North Korea
an editorial flag: atrocities, subversion of the constitutional order, or a criminal conviction.
population: Natl annual projection (1 Jul 2024) · indicators as of 5 Sep 2026 · 7 metros tracked
🗺️ Geography2 of 7 metros
North Korea metro footprint, shaded by composite tier.
Select a metro for its rank and a link to its page. Boundaries derived from Overture Maps administrative divisions; metros without source coverage are omitted.
🏙️ 7 tracked metros
🗂️ Administrative subdivisions
13 entries listed under North Korea across 2 types. Select any to see its metros and footprint.
Provinces (9)
Cities (4)
📋 At a glance
- Official languages
- Korean, North Korean standard language
- Currency
- North Korean won (KPW)
- Government
- Socialist state
- Legislature
- Supreme People's Assembly
- Constitution
- 1972, 10 amendment events since
- Demonym
- North Korean
- Time zone
- UTC+09:00
- Driving side
- Right
- Calling code
- +850
- Internet TLD
- .kp
- ISO 3166
- KP
- Established
- 1948
- Highest point
- Baekdu Mountain (2,744 m (9,003 ft))
- National anthem
- Aegukka
Facts via Wikidata.
🗣️ Languages of North Korea
Korean first; one language carries the country; 1 official.
| Language | Share | Status | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korean | 88% | Official | CLDR, country |
Shares count first and second language, so they overlap and can add past 100%.
- Effective languages
- 1.3
- Official-language gap
- 12%
- Korean is spoken by 88%
📰 In the news1 story
The Washington Post · 18 Aug 2026
"Trump reduces military exercises with South Korea, citing good ties with Kim Jong Un"Trump said he would substantially reduce joint exercises with South Korea, citing his relationship with Kim Jong Un and Seoul's stance on Iran.
💹 Economy and developmentLow income
Ranks are among sovereign countries with data; ★ marks a top-5% finish. Sources: World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data (UNDP, UN WPP, V-Dem, Global Carbon Budget, Ember, Energy Institute; CC BY 4.0). Each card credits its originating body. Renewable share is of electricity generation, not of primary energy. Each figure is the most recent year available.
Alliances & Organisations1 full membership
Political & Economic
Full memberDashed border = Candidate / ApplicantItalic = Dialogue / Observer
🏛️ Leadership History3 leaders · click to expand
is an editorial flag: associated with atrocities against civilians, systemic subversion of the constitutional order, or a criminal conviction (political persecutions and annulled convictions excluded). It is a curated list, not a measurement, so a name without one has not been cleared of anything. Hover a badge for the reason on file.
📈 Power over timeThe Power Atlas →
The power line is the headline share of world power, running from the state’s first ranked year (benchmark estimates with wide error bars before 1816). Latent power is material mass a state could mobilise (population, manpower, heavy industry). Recognised power is what the system actually treats it as (military spending, productive economy, reach, and status such as a Security Council seat or nuclear arsenal). When latent runs above recognised, a power is rising or under-rated; when recognised runs higher, it is punching above its weight or coasting on prestige. Material sub-indices run 1816 through 2016.
⚔️ Wars and conflicts4 interstate wars · click to expand
| Conflict | Years | Against | Combat deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russo-Ukrainian War● | 2014–present | Ukraine | 400,000–650,000 |
| Korean DMZ Conflict | 1966–1969 | South Korea,United States | 739+ |
| Vietnam War● | 1965–1973 | South Vietnam,United States,South Korea,Thailand,Australia,New Zealand,Laos,Khmer Republic,Philippines | 1,326,494–3,447,494 |
| Korean War [ 9 ]● | 1950–1953 | UN Command,South Korea,United States,United Kingdom,Australia,Belgium,Canada,France,Philippines,Colombia,Ethiopia,Greece,Luxembourg,Netherlands,New Zealand,South Africa,Thailand,Turkey | 2,568,927–4,096,927 |
Bold = principal belligerent. Source: Wikipedia, “List of interstate wars since 1945.”
👥 Population over time
Our World in Data population (CC BY): UN WPP 2024 from 1950, Gapminder v7 1800-1949, HYDE 3.3 earlier; today's borders. Figures above are as of 2023, the last year that is estimated rather than forecast. The dashed tail to 2026 is a UN WPP medium-variant projection. It is drawn because the line should reach the present, and drawn differently because it has not happened yet: no rank, peak or share on this page uses it. Before 1950 the series is reconstruction rather than contemporaneous statistics, which is worth knowing when a country’s peak sits back there. The current population shown elsewhere on this page comes from the workbook and is unchanged by this. Note that people and share of world can move in opposite directions. A country can grow steadily and still become a smaller part of humanity, which is what happened to almost every rich country after 1960.
👥 To 2100
The UN’s probabilistic projection for North Korea: the median with its 80% and 95% bands, the UN’s own high, low and zero-migration scenarios beside it. Not this site’s model; the site reads it and says what it implies.
What drives it
Births, deaths and net migration on the UN medium path, with fertility, life expectancy and median age, every decade from 1950.
Source: United Nations, DESA, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Estimates to 2023; projections 2024 to 2100, medium variant and probabilistic intervals. The UN revises every two years; this is the WPP 2024 revision.
🏆 National Teams
North Korea on the international stage. Select a card for the full record.